Newport County face off against AS Roma on Tuesday (4 August) in the Exiles’ final pre-season fixture.
County will face off against the European giants at Rodney Parade as the Exiles look to end their pre-season campaign on a high.
The Opposition
Roma finished in third place last season as they won their last five games in the league and finished on a total of 73 points.
Their top goal scorer last season was Donyell Malen with 18 goals, whilst Paulo Dybala topped the assist leaderboard for Roma with a total of six in the league.
The Italian side have also qualified for the Champions League for the first time since the 2018/19 season.
Their biggest victory last season was a 4-0 win in the league against Fiorentina as Gianluca Mancini, Wesley, Mario Hermosa, and Niccolo Pisilli all got on the score sheet.
So far this pre-season, Roma have competed in two matches drawing 3-3 against French side Cannes as well as suffering a 4-1 defeat to Cardiff City.
The History
AS Roma were formed in 1927 and took on the Capitoline wolf symbol for the club’s badge and the colours of red and yellow to represent the city of Rome.
It didn’t take Roma long to win their first title as they won the CONI Cup in the 1927-28 season.
Success would continue for the Italian club as they would win their first Scudetto fifteen years after the club was formed.
However, tough times would come for Roma as they were left with no players after World War Two and would suffer their only relegation in 1950-51.
The 60’s saw Roma come back to life as they won two Italian Cups in 1964 and 1969 and would fully recover from their setback years ago.
The club would also win a second Scudetto and almost tasted European success but would miss out as they would lose in the European Cup final to Liverpool.
A third Scudetto was added in 1999-00 season and would also win the Italian Super Cup, beating Fiorentina 3-0.
Since 2020 Roma have been in a new era as the Friedkin Group completed a takeover of the club.
Since their takeover, Roma were the first team to win the UEFA Conference League under legendary manager Jose Mourinho as well as qualify for the Champions League for the first time in eight years.
The Manager
Gian Piero Gasperini is the current head coach of the Italian giants.
Gasperini has managed a fair share of clubs throughout Italy which include Crotone, Genoa, Inter Milan, Atalanta and current club Roma.
During his managerial career, the Italian has won Serie A Coach of the year on two occasions in 2019 and 2020.
The former Atalanta manager did win the clubs first Europa League trophy in 2024, cementing himself as a legend at Atalanta.
Key Players
Donyell Malen is arguably Roma’s best player since originally arriving on loan from Aston Villa in January before signing permanently this summer. Malen managed to score 18 goals in all competitions and finished as the joint second-highest goal scorer in Serie A.
Goalkeeper Mile Svilar is also one of the best current goalkeepers in Italy as the young Serbian continues to impress between the sticks. Last season, Svilar kept 18 clean sheets in the league and three clean sheets in the Europa League.
Manu Koné is another player who can control the middle of the pitch with ease. Koné's impressive play in midfield has blown fans away, with teams such as Manchester United keeping an eye on him in this transfer window. The Frenchman also competed in the World Cup, where he reached the semi-finals.